Message from the CAO

Claire Chino

In the spring of 1918, ITOCHU made its footprint in New York by establishing an office in the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway. As I learn of this fact almost a 100 years later as the CAO of ITOCHU International, I cannot help but be overwhelmed by ITOCHU’s decision, under the leadership of a brilliant young businessman, Chubei Ito Jr., just in his early 30s.

This decision is extremely significant and telling in many ways:

1. ITOCHU decided to come to New York the same year it transformed its business model from a partnership to a corporation, signifying the importance of the New York presence in ITOCHU’s new corporate chapter.
2. Of all of the buildings available in New York, ITOCHU decided to become a tenant in the Woolworth Building, the tallest building in the world at that time! Almost a century later, I get goose bumps thinking about what a bold and exciting decision it must have been for a Japanese trader to occupy the “best” in the world.
3. ITOCHU opened its New York office during the Great War (World War I), which would come to an end only 8 months later. This indicates the visionary business sense and the belief in the American market that ITOCHU possessed notwithstanding global turmoil.

While I am struck with awe, I also realize that the ITOCHU DNA, as evidenced by the foregoing, continues even today: Excited to try new things. Aiming for the best. Thinking strategically for the future.

With these DNAs intact, I strongly hope that we are remembered this coming century for our pursuit of the global good.